Sunk into Slumber

Lin Ye suddenly tore off his left arm. His right hand clenched in midair, then seized it with a savage grip.

"Devour!"

The severed arm trembled violently as the frenzied power within it compressed and coalesced.

"Let's go to hell together!"

Lin Ye hurled the energy orb in his palm, condensed to its absolute limit, straight at the gray-robed leader!

The orb left his hand and became a streak of light, reaching the man's chest in an instant!

"No—!!!"

The gray-robed leader let out a terrified roar. His hands frantically formed seals, trying to conjure a shield around himself even as he attempted to activate a secret technique and teleport away.

Boom—!!!

Countless clashing energies erupted in a deafening blast, and a devastating shock wave swallowed the center of the cavern.

The others were hurled away like kites with their strings cut, slamming hard into the cavern walls. The entire cave shuddered violently, as if doomsday had arrived.

When the blinding light and clouds of dust had cleared, only a vast, charred crater remained.

The gray-robed leader—and the space he had occupied—had been completely erased.

Silence reigned in the cavern.

Su Muxue struggled up from the rubble, ignoring the pain wracking her body as her beautiful eyes searched anxiously for Lin Ye.

A figure slowly rose with his back against the cavern wall.

He glanced at the charred crater, his face expressionless, and uttered a quiet remark:

"Two left."

The two gray-robed men, badly wounded by the shock wave, struggled to their feet, their faces twisted with fury and shock.

"You actually... killed the leader... You're dead!"

Lin Ye ignored their threats. He summoned the Star-Shattering Sword with his right hand, and it flew back into his grasp.

He tightened his grip on the hilt and looked calmly at the two men. "Both of you at once, or one at a time?"

"Arrogant!" One gray-robed man roared, suppressing his injuries and fear as he turned into a gray blur and lunged for Lin Ye's throat with both hands. At the same time, the other unleashed a mental shock wave aimed straight at Lin Ye's sea of consciousness.

Lin Ye merely extended the Star-Shattering Sword with casual ease, its tip striking the joints of the attacker's claws with pinpoint precision.

The gray-robed man on the right also released a mental shock wave, sending it hurtling toward Lin Ye.

The first gray-robed man's face changed abruptly, and his claws snapped back.

Lin Ye stepped with Flowing Cloud Steps and slid half a step to the side, dodging the mental shock wave.

The Star-Shattering Sword in his hand swept in an arc, stabbing toward the gray-robed man behind him.

"Shhk!"

The Star-Shattering Sword tore through the protective blood-red glow with a faint ripping sound and pierced the gray-robed man's lower abdomen.

In just two breaths, despite his grievous injuries and severed arm, Lin Ye had broken the two gray-robed men's combined attack—and even left one of them with a wound of moderate depth.

A chill ran through both gray-robed men.

Was this man really at the end of his strength?

How could his movements still be so precise and swift? How could his combat instincts still be so terrifying?

Lin Ye felt that after sacrificing his severed arm, his body had actually shed some kind of heavy burden.

"Again."

The gray-robed men instinctively took half a step back.

"Both of you, attack! Kill him! He's already at the end of his strength. He won't last much longer."

"Humm—!"

Just then, a sudden change swept through the cavern!

A deep vibration came from its depths. A surge of energy gushed out from within the crack, instantly filling the entire cavern.

"This is..." Wild delight flared in the gray-robed man's eyes!

"It's the energy of the earth-vein core! The Master's power is seeping through!" the gray-robed man on the left exclaimed, his voice trembling with excitement.

"Hahaha! Heaven's on our side! The earth-vein energy is erupting, so space here will become unstable,

and it'll suppress the true energy of other attributes! Kid, your time's up!" the gray-robed man on the right cackled.

As the earth-attributed energy spread, Lin Ye immediately felt the power in his body sink into an invisible mire, its might greatly diminished.

The two gray-robed men, by contrast, seemed right at home in the dense earth-attributed energy. Even their injuries appeared to heal a little faster, and their auras began to recover.

"Kill!"

The two gray-robed men exchanged a glance and lunged at Lin Ye together.

"Lin Ye! Catch!"

A sword beam, brimming with icy chill, streaked toward Lin Ye like a meteor tearing through the night.

Ignoring her own injuries, Su Muxue threw the ice-blue long sword in her hand like a dart, sending it toward Lin Ye.

She herself shot forward like lightning right behind the sword beam, lunging at one of the gray-robed men to try to take some of the pressure off Lin Ye!

"Brother Lin, we're here too!"

Chen Feng roared as he charged the other gray-robed man! His swordplay was wide and forceful, a desperate fight to the death, all to create the slightest opening for Lin Ye!

The two disciples gritted their teeth and followed, circling in from both sides in an attempt to distract the gray-robed men.

Catching the ice-blue long sword gave Lin Ye's spirits a slight lift.

He faced the gray-robed man on the left, who was charging straight at him with the strongest aura, and thrust.

It was the strongest sword he could muster, bringing together every last bit of power he could command.

Like a streak of light, it appeared at the gray-robed man's brow in an instant.

The cruel grin on the gray-robed man's face froze.

"No..."

He managed only half a syllable before his voice failed.

"Shhk."

The gray-robed man's charge stopped dead, and the light in his eyes quickly went out.

"Run!"

The remaining gray-robed man dared not linger. He abruptly leapt backward, frantically striking out with several gusts of palm force, then turned without a backward glance and fled for the crack's exit.

"Think you can leave?"

Lin Ye's eyes turned cold. How could he let the man escape and return to cause trouble? He forced out the last of his true energy, about to give chase.

"Pfft—"

A mouthful of blood burst from his lips. His vision suddenly went black.

"Lin Ye!" Su Muxue hurried over and caught him.

"Chase... Don't let him... take the news back..."

Su Muxue looked toward the gray-robed man, who had already vanished, and gritted her teeth.

"Chen Feng, stay with Lin Ye! I'll go after him!"

She turned into a wisp of smoke and sped toward the crack's exit.

She knew that if the gray-robed man escaped, he would be a source of endless trouble.

Chen Feng helped Lin Ye sit against the cavern wall.

"Brother Lin, hang on! You have to hang on!"

The two disciples gathered around as well, their faces full of anxiety and helplessness.

Lin Ye slowly closed his eyes. He could feel his life slipping away at a terrifying speed.

"Am I going to die..."

Scene after scene from his previous life, every moment of this life, flashed before his eyes like a revolving lantern.

Was he unwilling to die? Of course he was.

But he didn't seem to have that many regrets, either.

In the darkness, a faint glimmer seemed to flicker in the distance.

Was it the light of Su Muxue's ice-blue sword? Or something else...

He tried desperately to grasp that glimmer, but his vision suddenly went black,

and he plunged completely into the boundless darkness, without another sound.

Only Chen Feng's heart-wrenching cries remained in the cavern,

mingling with the rumbling of the earth-vein and sending a chill through everyone's heart.